World War Z - nothing like the movie, at all, except for zombies. Just cheesy speculative fiction, but better than average and it reminded my of the BFC for some reason.

1493 - A must for Latin Americanists. A really great rundown (some of it speculative, but supported by lots of data and period literature) of what really happened in the Americas in the 1500s and 1600s, and how it affected the Old World. For instance, pre-Columbian European financial and political centers tended to be in warmer areas, for the simple reason that you could grow enough food to support cities. In the north, you really couldn't. Until the introduction of the potato. The England and Russia etc happened. And now you know the rest of the story.... Anyway, also a big focus on China, unsurprising considering Charles Mann also wrote 1491. Really top notch pop historical survey.

This is why I even bothered posting here. All of you all working in counterterrorism, narcotrafficking, all that stuff should check this out. It's academic as fuck and was hard for me to read, but it's an amazing, and scary overview of various terrorist/criminal networks operating in states being incrementally weakened by globalization. Check it out, it's amazing and I wish I had some use for all my new knowledge. A lot of you folks still lurking around here probably do, it's not even that long.

"4 cylinder Camaro=communism" El Presidente

"You can smoke salmon but it's not quite the same as smoking heroin." nanuq

I was just thinking, "the BFC would really like this book," and then about halfway through there was a shout-out to RYP and the Somalia Report. So here it is.

The author books passage on different container and security ships, a strange voyage that ties together the tale of her research on container shipping. Which is fascinating, especially since she's a really good writer, straightforward with a story arc rather than overly academic. She HATES pirates with a white hot passion, too. Anyway, here's her TED Talk if you're interested, but prefer the 11min Cliffs Notes version:

"4 cylinder Camaro=communism" El Presidente

"You can smoke salmon but it's not quite the same as smoking heroin." nanuq

This book is a must-read if you enjoy US history, and a great companion to the current US Presidential primaries.

Woodard's thesis - approached almost anthropologically - is that the USA, and North America as a whole, is made up of nations within and astride the official political states. These 11 culturally distinct nations have grappled with each other for generations, and their tensions explain the course of US history.

These 11 nations include "Yankeedom" (New England), "New Netherlands" (New York City and its urbane satellites), "Midlands" (the Midwest, sort of, but also parts of Canada; it involves German and Scandinavian settlement), and the "Left Coast" (Coastal NorCal, Oregon, and Washington State). These states more or less want peaceful communities, tolerance, and social security, and have a long-term, ever-shifting series of alliances, with Yankeedom the most important and influential partner.

The rival bloc is usually made up of the "Deep South" (most of the US Southeast), "Greater Appalachia" (a much bigger swath than you'd assume, from the Appalachians down to Texas; he talks about our Scots-Irish heritage a lot, and references the movie Braveheart, twice), "Tidewater" (Coastal Virginia and the Chesapeake Bay, where most of the Founding Fathers were from and once immensely important, but now just a subservient satellite of the Deep South), and the "Far West" (the Wild West, basically anywhere humans couldn't really live without irrigation projects and large-scale shipping). There are other nations, too: "New France" (Quebec and Southern Louisiana), "First Nations" (Inuit-controlled Canada) and "El Norte" (Aztlán), but Woodard treats those as afterthoughts.

For Woodard, it's all about Yankeedom vs. the Deep South, a pitched battle for control over the US political systems and cultural mores. It's an amazing analysis. I don't agree with all of it, and I was pretty offended by some of his characterizations of Appalachians and Deep South. Dude has a bias. But it was a great read and made sense on soooooo many levels. It's worth it just for his contextualization of the Woodrow Wilson presidency.

"4 cylinder Camaro=communism" El Presidente

"You can smoke salmon but it's not quite the same as smoking heroin." nanuq

Left of Boom: How a young CIA case officer penetrated the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.by Douglas Laux and Ralph Pezzullo.

Laux's book is just bad. I agree with everyone who gave it a 1 star rating on Amazon. Pezzullo should have known better than to associate with this loser.

The real Army, composed entirely of young enthusiasts in camouflage uniforms, from whom impossible efforts would be demanded and to whom all sorts of tricks would be taught. That's the army in which I should like to fight.” ― Jean Lartéguy

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